When a person is bedridden because of illness, communication becomes fundamental to the patient's recovery. Often an ill person is detached from family and friends, and then loneliness and depression begin to stifle the healing process. The present invention provides a means allowing communication between an ill person, or invalid, and his or her physicians, nurses, friends and family. In accordance with the present invention, a case is developed providing a number of pockets for holding audio cassette recorders and cassettes. Messages are recorded and then reserved in designated recipient pockets. Written messages are catalogued in the interior of the case.
The art of creating and transmitting audio messages has been pursued since the invention of the audio recorder. Devices have been patented which allow a personalized message to be recorded and delivered to various types of recipients such as hospital patients. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,878,871 to Noto and 4,710,145 to Hall-Vandis both disclose a doll in which is located a cassette recorder for recording a message. The doll is delivered to the intended recipient who plays the message.
Several storage devices have been developed which aid bedridden patients and invalids. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,831,673 to Winckler and 4,129,909 to Riehl both disclose a device, attachable to a bed, in which various items are held. An article holder affixable to a walker is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,618 to Jones. U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,903 to Wells discloses a bag which hangs from the handles of a wheel chair. And U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,061 to Dunn discloses a storage case attachable to the arm of a wheel chair.
While these devices perform well for their intended applications, they do not provide a case, attachable to a bed or arm of a wheel chair, allowing audio recording means and means for exchanging audible and written messages.